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Happy Mother’s Day! History buffs would like you to know that the first American Mother’s Day originated in 1908 in West Virginia by a woman named Anna Jarvis. Although not a mother herself, Jarvis wanted to honor her own mother so she partnered with Wannamaker’s in Philadelphia to host the first American Mother’s Day in 1908.

For years, I remember honoring my mom with a homemade card and a bouquet of flowers from the yard. Pictures would be taken and a special meal made at home. Today, we have exploded with all sorts of gifts, dinners and flowers. Keep this Mother’s Day simple, yet meaningful.

To celebrate, I decided to get out some of my mom’s recipes. In the ’30s and ’40s, white bread, white cake and white muffins were very popular. Also, toppings were traditionally made of margarine, white flour and sugar. I enjoy her recipes, but make simple substitutions to enrich their nutritional value. In doing so, I am able to enjoy great memories and boost the nutritional value of a homemade baked item.

Bakeries have also boosted nutritional value of their breads and muffins. Read the food label or ask a few questions to find out the ingredients in the baked item.

Here are some simple substitutions to boost the nutrition and lower the calories.

• Shortening, butter, margarine or solid fat (lard) can be replaced with liquid canola oil. Canola oil is a mono unsaturated fat which is more heart-friendly. Shortening, butter or lard are saturated fats which are less heart-friendly. If the first ingredient for margarine is liquid, then it’s okay to use. However, liquid canola oil is best. To replace, use ¼ less liquid oil. If the recipe calls for 1 cup of shortening, use ¾ cup canola oil. If the recipe uses melting shortening, margarines or butter, replace with equal amounts of canola oil.

• Instead of whole milk, half and half or evaporated milks, use skim milk, 1 percent milk, evaporated skim milk, or fat-free half and half.

• Eliminate salt in baked items unless it also calls for yeast.

• The store shelves are now full of a variety of flours. Instead of white flour, substitute white whole wheat. It still is a whole grain but doesn’t have the heavy dark flavor of whole grain. If you are new to this, try substituting white whole wheat for up to half of the flour.

• Eggs can be substituted by using two egg whites for one whole egg. The yolk has the cholesterol and the white the protein. Although recent health reports are saying it is okay to eat one egg yolk each day, this is a way to save the egg yolks for a morning omelet.

• Nonfat cooking spray can be used instead of the traditional recipes which call for “greasing the muffin tins or cake pans.”

Here is my mom’s recipe for blueberry muffins with the above substitutions. They freeze well.

Giant Blueberry Muffins

3 1/2 cup flour ( 1 ¾ white whole wheat and 1 ¾ white flour)

½ cup of sugar plus 4 Tablespoons

5 teaspoons baking powder

2 eggs ( 4 egg whites)

1 cup skim milk

2/3 cup canola oil

2 cups blueberries (frozen are fine)

Crumb topping

1/2 cup white whole wheat flour

¼ cup oatmeal

½ cup margarine (liquid is first ingredient)

1/2 cup sugar

¼ chopped walnuts (optional)

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

Sift dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. (Flour, sugar, baking powder) Combine egg whites, milk, and oil. Add all at once. Stir quickly only till dry ingredients are moistened.

Toss blueberries with 4 Tablespoons of sugar. Gently fold into batter.

For crumb topping- place all ingredients in a bowl. Mix with pastry blender or a fork to form crumbs.

Spray muffin tins with non-fat cooking spray. Top with crumb topping. Bake at 350-degree oven for 20-25 minutes.